Liana, who had been staring intently at Duke Argenthoz, who was swallowing his anxiety alone, spoke cautiously.
“Your Excellency, don’t worry too much.”
At the assurance in her soft voice, Duke Argenthoz raised his head without realizing it.
“I think Duke Iels knows the Princess’s whereabouts.”
“...Duke of Iels? Did Yvonne go to see the Duke of Iels?”
“That’s not it. If it's the Duke, he’ll find the Princess.”
“What on earth does that mean?”
“And don’t worry about Little Duke Barden. He’s a strong-willed man, and I’m sure he’ll return safely.”
"Ah."
Duke Argenthoz straightened his frown.
As he looked at the calm Liana, his anxious mind seemed to calm down.
Yvonne really picked a good secretary.
He said he was the successor to the Rognier family.
It was truly fortunate for the child to escape from the Cardin family, a den of warlocks.
'I want you to stay in our family for the rest of your life.'
Duke Argenthoz was secretly pleased and wanted to ask Liana another question, but his subordinates were busy looking for him, so he had no choice but to send her away.
He often found himself lost in other thoughts while planning the escape of Prince Felix and Consort Evelyn, who were soon to be imprisoned in the Deep Sea Palace, one of the closed imperial palaces.
'The Duke of Iels is said to be arriving in the capital tonight, so let's ask about Yvonne's whereabouts.'
He tried to be a cool father who ignored his daughter's love life and just stood by, but there was nothing he could do.
Since we all know you're dating our daughter, we need to be honest and tell you where we last met.
His aide finally summarized and reported to Duke Argenthoz, who barely concealed his seething feelings with his expressionless face.
“Your Excellency, then we will pack this number of people to go to the Palace of the Deep Sea.”
“Hmm...”
Duke Argenthoz looked over the list.
The participants included several outstanding knights from the Duke of Iels's family, knights from the Marquis of Raize's family, and the wizard Count Ollit.
'I'm worried.'
The Palace of the Deep Sea is a very small and shabby palace built in the westernmost corner of the Verbent Palace.
However, the outer walls of the western Verbent Palace were quite high and solid.
Moreover, the security would have been tighter with the warlock, palace knights, and soldiers guarding it.
"We might be able to somehow gain entry, but the problem lies in escaping. Will Consort Evelyn be able to safely climb the high walls? Floating magic alone won't be enough. Should I take the risk and use a movement spell with Consort Evelyn?"
Although there was a high chance of failure, Duke Argenthoz believed in the possibility and made up his mind.
“I’ll go too.”
"Yes?"
"It's important. I'd better get this resolved quickly."
Everyone was taken aback, but soon nodded carefully.
Even though Consort Evelyn was receiving proper treatment, it would still be difficult for her to cooperate, so it would certainly be easier if Duke Argenthoz, the owner of the Magic Tower, went with her.
“Ugh.”
"This."
However, Duke Argenthoz and others who arrived at the western outer wall of the Verbent Palace let out a sigh.
As if they had expected them to come, security was three times tighter than usual.
One of the knights lowered his voice and sighed.
“How can this be...?”
“First, let’s stealthily approach the outer wall closest to the Palace of the Deep Sea.”
Duke Argenthoz was also anxious inside, but he moved without showing it.
Even if the guards were dealt with through magic and the knights' power, the problem was still the time of escape.
If you want to force yourself to use movement magic, you need to conserve your magic power, but in the current situation, it seemed impossible.
How on earth did he get Concubine Evelyn out?
If anything, only Prince Felix needs to escape, but there's no way such a filial son would leave his mother behind.
He even seriously considered knocking out Concubine Evelyn and taking her out.
As they were hiding and discussing on the outer wall near the palace of the deep sea, unexpected reinforcements appeared before them.
"Who?!"
"Shhhh."
A tall, middle-aged woman with sharp eyes put a long finger to her lips.
“Hello. This is Ellery Demirant.”
Everyone's eyes widened.
She was none other than the famous Ellery Demirant, the leader of the best intelligence guild, said to be even more difficult to meet than the Emperor.
And behind her, guild members with slender physiques quickly appeared and bowed deeply and politely.
Count Ollit shouted in horror.
“I’ve seen the man behind her at the Demirant Guild!”
“That woman, too!”
"Ha."
Duke Argenthoz let out a laugh at the strange situation.
Ellery Demirant approached the whispering people with a grin.
"Duke Argenthoz, you've finally arrived. I've been waiting. If I had known this would happen, I should have contacted you earlier."
"Ahem, Ellery Demirant? You were supposed to meet me? It would be a problem if we were enemies."
As the Duke of Argenthoz glanced south in the direction of the Palace of Peace and muttered, Ellery Demirant immediately answered with a cold smile.
"Of course, the Demirant Guild will be your steadfast allies, Your Excellency. As long as our successor remains there."
“Successor?”
"The successor to the Demirant Guild is Carol Demirant. As the maid of Princess Argenthoz, she swore allegiance to her."
“Yvonne’s maid?”
Shock crossed the faces of the Duke and others at the unexpected name.
“The group of warlocks in the palace that Your Excellency is trying to punish is also enemies of our Demirant Guild.”
As Ellery Demirant finished speaking, gritting her teeth, her eyes lit up with a bright light.
'Because they killed the previous guild leader.'
When Ellery heard from Carol that the death of the previous guild master, Carol's father, was related to a warlock, she was half-hearted.
A few days ago, Ellery had collected and given Carol all the black magic books and materials she needed and had been tracing the connection between the death of the previous guild leader and the warlock.
And finally, the truth about death was revealed.
.
.
10 years ago.
The previous guild master noticed that children who had escaped from orphanages without permission, vagrants, pirates of unknown identities, refugees, and other people at the bottom of the social ladder who were not properly protected by the law were being kidnapped and disappearing one by one.
Human trafficking was one of the most severe crimes punishable under imperial law.
But the fact that this number of people were being kidnapped so frequently and in increasingly daring ways meant that there was a big conspiracy behind it.
The previous guild leader, so confident, moved cautiously alone to avoid revealing his true identity.
At that time, he happened to hear that the Duke Cardin family was laundering money and sending a huge amount of money somewhere.
The previous guild leader instinctively followed the clever flow of money.
And he witnessed an unbelievable scene.
The kidnapped vagrants were killed by the warlocks and became their black magic.
The Duke Cardin's family was a group of evil warlocks...!
But he couldn't move around freely.
The Duke of Cardin was the maternal family of Empress Giselle.
The high-ranking noble families who held real power in the empire were truly enormous.
Even if it's the Demirant Information Guild, they don't touch information related to the imperial family and the ducal family.
Because if they're not careful, the entire information guild might disappear.
But when it came to evil black magic that killed people, it was a different story.
These terrible warlocks will make the world his beloved daughter's lives even more miserable.
The previous guild leader couldn't just let it go, so he found a way.
He was looking for someone to help him.
But in the meantime, he was chased by a familiar and was killed by a warlock, leaving him helpless.
.
.
'Damn kids.'
Ellery Demirant, who belatedly discovered the reason for her brother's death, wept.
She felt like she wanted to bring all the warlocks in the world and burn them all at once.
But she managed to calm her mind.
Even if she is sad, Carol, that child—a child who has lost his father—is not as sad as that child.
Carol also suppressed her anger for now, seeking revenge.
The Demirant Information Guild cannot engage in a full-scale war with the Warlock.
Instead, it could definitely be helpful in fighting.
Some can properly swing the hammer of revenge.
'Oh, so that's why Carol has been attached to Princess Yvonne Argenthoz all along?'
Ellery Demirant was impressed.
As expected, it was a vision worthy of a successor.
Ellery Demirant smiled fondly as she remembered her cute, lovable, smart, and scheming niece.
“Hehehe.”
“...Ahem. Please understand. The guild leader sometimes laughs like this.”
“Um, is that so?”
Feeling the Duke of Argenthoz's bewildered gaze, she quickly came to her senses and pointed to the outer wall of the palace.
"I'll give you a detailed explanation later. Since we're short on time, I'll help you, Your Excellency. Have you heard that the Demirant Guild knows the structure of the Imperial Palace better than the royal family?"
“I heard about it, but was it true?”
He thought it was a metaphor for how much information the Demirant Guild holds.
Ellery Demirant smiled brightly at Count Ollit, who answered in a bewildered manner, and reached out to one of the guild members without looking back.
"Really? In fact, it's top secret, so you need the guild master's permission to see this secret palace map. Since I'm the guild master, I immediately granted permission. Bring it."
“Here you go, Guild Leader.”
A guild member quickly placed a rolled-up map in her hand.
Ellery Demirant spoke curtly, gesturing to the Duke and his party, who were standing there dumbfounded.
“What are you doing? Let’s leave quickly.”
She stopped at a point on the outer wall of the western palace with her guild members, measured the distance with her hand, and then pulled on a ring hidden underground.
"Oh my god."
Ellery Demirant and her party, who had covered the mouth of Count Ollit, who was screaming in terror, entered the palace of the deep sea.
And then, 30 minutes later.
Prince Felix and Consort Evelyn managed to escape from the heavily guarded Verbent Palace.
That too, very easily.
Prince Felix, holding his mother's hand in fear, emerged through a hole in the outer wall and slowly looked around the outside of the palace.
And then he let out a slow, hollow laugh.
“Haha. I thought I was dead, but... who would have thought there would be such a hole in the palace of the deep sea? Well, anyway, it seems I still have work to do.”
Ellery Demirant approached Prince Felix, who was muttering and laughing cynically.
Felix willingly met Ellery's fierce gaze.
“You should become Emperor, Your Highness?”
Prince Felix, his mouth wide open, turned his head towards Duke Argenthoz and frowned.
“...Who is this woman? I’m scared. She’s the first person to openly ask me to become Emperor.”
The Duke of Argenthoz smiled bitterly and agreed with her words.
“Unfortunately, there is no place to retreat now, Your Excellency.”
“Your Excellency, don’t worry too much.”
At the assurance in her soft voice, Duke Argenthoz raised his head without realizing it.
“I think Duke Iels knows the Princess’s whereabouts.”
“...Duke of Iels? Did Yvonne go to see the Duke of Iels?”
“That’s not it. If it's the Duke, he’ll find the Princess.”
“What on earth does that mean?”
“And don’t worry about Little Duke Barden. He’s a strong-willed man, and I’m sure he’ll return safely.”
"Ah."
Duke Argenthoz straightened his frown.
As he looked at the calm Liana, his anxious mind seemed to calm down.
Yvonne really picked a good secretary.
He said he was the successor to the Rognier family.
It was truly fortunate for the child to escape from the Cardin family, a den of warlocks.
'I want you to stay in our family for the rest of your life.'
Duke Argenthoz was secretly pleased and wanted to ask Liana another question, but his subordinates were busy looking for him, so he had no choice but to send her away.
He often found himself lost in other thoughts while planning the escape of Prince Felix and Consort Evelyn, who were soon to be imprisoned in the Deep Sea Palace, one of the closed imperial palaces.
'The Duke of Iels is said to be arriving in the capital tonight, so let's ask about Yvonne's whereabouts.'
He tried to be a cool father who ignored his daughter's love life and just stood by, but there was nothing he could do.
Since we all know you're dating our daughter, we need to be honest and tell you where we last met.
His aide finally summarized and reported to Duke Argenthoz, who barely concealed his seething feelings with his expressionless face.
“Your Excellency, then we will pack this number of people to go to the Palace of the Deep Sea.”
“Hmm...”
Duke Argenthoz looked over the list.
The participants included several outstanding knights from the Duke of Iels's family, knights from the Marquis of Raize's family, and the wizard Count Ollit.
'I'm worried.'
The Palace of the Deep Sea is a very small and shabby palace built in the westernmost corner of the Verbent Palace.
However, the outer walls of the western Verbent Palace were quite high and solid.
Moreover, the security would have been tighter with the warlock, palace knights, and soldiers guarding it.
"We might be able to somehow gain entry, but the problem lies in escaping. Will Consort Evelyn be able to safely climb the high walls? Floating magic alone won't be enough. Should I take the risk and use a movement spell with Consort Evelyn?"
Although there was a high chance of failure, Duke Argenthoz believed in the possibility and made up his mind.
“I’ll go too.”
"Yes?"
"It's important. I'd better get this resolved quickly."
Everyone was taken aback, but soon nodded carefully.
Even though Consort Evelyn was receiving proper treatment, it would still be difficult for her to cooperate, so it would certainly be easier if Duke Argenthoz, the owner of the Magic Tower, went with her.
***
“Ugh.”
"This."
However, Duke Argenthoz and others who arrived at the western outer wall of the Verbent Palace let out a sigh.
As if they had expected them to come, security was three times tighter than usual.
One of the knights lowered his voice and sighed.
“How can this be...?”
“First, let’s stealthily approach the outer wall closest to the Palace of the Deep Sea.”
Duke Argenthoz was also anxious inside, but he moved without showing it.
Even if the guards were dealt with through magic and the knights' power, the problem was still the time of escape.
If you want to force yourself to use movement magic, you need to conserve your magic power, but in the current situation, it seemed impossible.
How on earth did he get Concubine Evelyn out?
If anything, only Prince Felix needs to escape, but there's no way such a filial son would leave his mother behind.
He even seriously considered knocking out Concubine Evelyn and taking her out.
As they were hiding and discussing on the outer wall near the palace of the deep sea, unexpected reinforcements appeared before them.
"Who?!"
"Shhhh."
A tall, middle-aged woman with sharp eyes put a long finger to her lips.
“Hello. This is Ellery Demirant.”
Everyone's eyes widened.
She was none other than the famous Ellery Demirant, the leader of the best intelligence guild, said to be even more difficult to meet than the Emperor.
And behind her, guild members with slender physiques quickly appeared and bowed deeply and politely.
Count Ollit shouted in horror.
“I’ve seen the man behind her at the Demirant Guild!”
“That woman, too!”
"Ha."
Duke Argenthoz let out a laugh at the strange situation.
Ellery Demirant approached the whispering people with a grin.
"Duke Argenthoz, you've finally arrived. I've been waiting. If I had known this would happen, I should have contacted you earlier."
"Ahem, Ellery Demirant? You were supposed to meet me? It would be a problem if we were enemies."
As the Duke of Argenthoz glanced south in the direction of the Palace of Peace and muttered, Ellery Demirant immediately answered with a cold smile.
"Of course, the Demirant Guild will be your steadfast allies, Your Excellency. As long as our successor remains there."
“Successor?”
"The successor to the Demirant Guild is Carol Demirant. As the maid of Princess Argenthoz, she swore allegiance to her."
“Yvonne’s maid?”
Shock crossed the faces of the Duke and others at the unexpected name.
“The group of warlocks in the palace that Your Excellency is trying to punish is also enemies of our Demirant Guild.”
As Ellery Demirant finished speaking, gritting her teeth, her eyes lit up with a bright light.
'Because they killed the previous guild leader.'
When Ellery heard from Carol that the death of the previous guild master, Carol's father, was related to a warlock, she was half-hearted.
A few days ago, Ellery had collected and given Carol all the black magic books and materials she needed and had been tracing the connection between the death of the previous guild leader and the warlock.
And finally, the truth about death was revealed.
.
.
10 years ago.
The previous guild master noticed that children who had escaped from orphanages without permission, vagrants, pirates of unknown identities, refugees, and other people at the bottom of the social ladder who were not properly protected by the law were being kidnapped and disappearing one by one.
Human trafficking was one of the most severe crimes punishable under imperial law.
But the fact that this number of people were being kidnapped so frequently and in increasingly daring ways meant that there was a big conspiracy behind it.
The previous guild leader, so confident, moved cautiously alone to avoid revealing his true identity.
At that time, he happened to hear that the Duke Cardin family was laundering money and sending a huge amount of money somewhere.
The previous guild leader instinctively followed the clever flow of money.
And he witnessed an unbelievable scene.
The kidnapped vagrants were killed by the warlocks and became their black magic.
The Duke Cardin's family was a group of evil warlocks...!
But he couldn't move around freely.
The Duke of Cardin was the maternal family of Empress Giselle.
The high-ranking noble families who held real power in the empire were truly enormous.
Even if it's the Demirant Information Guild, they don't touch information related to the imperial family and the ducal family.
Because if they're not careful, the entire information guild might disappear.
But when it came to evil black magic that killed people, it was a different story.
These terrible warlocks will make the world his beloved daughter's lives even more miserable.
The previous guild leader couldn't just let it go, so he found a way.
He was looking for someone to help him.
But in the meantime, he was chased by a familiar and was killed by a warlock, leaving him helpless.
.
.
'Damn kids.'
Ellery Demirant, who belatedly discovered the reason for her brother's death, wept.
She felt like she wanted to bring all the warlocks in the world and burn them all at once.
But she managed to calm her mind.
Even if she is sad, Carol, that child—a child who has lost his father—is not as sad as that child.
Carol also suppressed her anger for now, seeking revenge.
The Demirant Information Guild cannot engage in a full-scale war with the Warlock.
Instead, it could definitely be helpful in fighting.
Some can properly swing the hammer of revenge.
'Oh, so that's why Carol has been attached to Princess Yvonne Argenthoz all along?'
Ellery Demirant was impressed.
As expected, it was a vision worthy of a successor.
Ellery Demirant smiled fondly as she remembered her cute, lovable, smart, and scheming niece.
“Hehehe.”
“...Ahem. Please understand. The guild leader sometimes laughs like this.”
“Um, is that so?”
Feeling the Duke of Argenthoz's bewildered gaze, she quickly came to her senses and pointed to the outer wall of the palace.
"I'll give you a detailed explanation later. Since we're short on time, I'll help you, Your Excellency. Have you heard that the Demirant Guild knows the structure of the Imperial Palace better than the royal family?"
“I heard about it, but was it true?”
He thought it was a metaphor for how much information the Demirant Guild holds.
Ellery Demirant smiled brightly at Count Ollit, who answered in a bewildered manner, and reached out to one of the guild members without looking back.
"Really? In fact, it's top secret, so you need the guild master's permission to see this secret palace map. Since I'm the guild master, I immediately granted permission. Bring it."
“Here you go, Guild Leader.”
A guild member quickly placed a rolled-up map in her hand.
Ellery Demirant spoke curtly, gesturing to the Duke and his party, who were standing there dumbfounded.
“What are you doing? Let’s leave quickly.”
She stopped at a point on the outer wall of the western palace with her guild members, measured the distance with her hand, and then pulled on a ring hidden underground.
"Oh my god."
Ellery Demirant and her party, who had covered the mouth of Count Ollit, who was screaming in terror, entered the palace of the deep sea.
And then, 30 minutes later.
Prince Felix and Consort Evelyn managed to escape from the heavily guarded Verbent Palace.
That too, very easily.
Prince Felix, holding his mother's hand in fear, emerged through a hole in the outer wall and slowly looked around the outside of the palace.
And then he let out a slow, hollow laugh.
“Haha. I thought I was dead, but... who would have thought there would be such a hole in the palace of the deep sea? Well, anyway, it seems I still have work to do.”
Ellery Demirant approached Prince Felix, who was muttering and laughing cynically.
Felix willingly met Ellery's fierce gaze.
“You should become Emperor, Your Highness?”
Prince Felix, his mouth wide open, turned his head towards Duke Argenthoz and frowned.
“...Who is this woman? I’m scared. She’s the first person to openly ask me to become Emperor.”
The Duke of Argenthoz smiled bitterly and agreed with her words.
“Unfortunately, there is no place to retreat now, Your Excellency.”
Comments
Post a Comment